Guys im off on hols tomorrow ,so im just doing the necessary checks on the van itself.I have a Bailey Ranger 510/4 2002 model my question is, the stated tyre pressure is 36psi.Is this the pressure when the van is loaded or unloaded or both the same
Interesting this is, I have a Bailey Pageant Monarch and tyre pressures are 37 psi, and it didn't tow as well as other vans I have had. Serviced recently and the engineer who did it inflated the tyres to 55 psi and said I would notice the difference.
I have since towed the van to Sweden and back, about 2500 miles, and it made an amazing difference , so give it a try.
I put a post under the towing section and it started a right old row! Bearing in mind that the tyres are van tyres 8 ply radials, they will easily take the pressure
Just going on previous threads and Handbook guidance hence me sticking to 36 psi .It does seem low to me especially when other members are putting almost double that in .I will phone the dealers to get a definitive answer.
I asked about tyre pressures in a forum a couple of months ago, it started all sorts of interesting debates!!! We had new tyres put on our caravan when we brought it and the fitter had crossed out the 29psi on the weightplate by the door and put 55psi, for a twin axle Bailey Senator Wyoming! The ride back home was ok, towed very well but after asking the question I deflated them back to the manual recommendation of 29psi, towed much better and less bouncy. I now check them before we set off with the caravan fully loaded with cold tyres.
You also need to know what the tyre loading index is i.e. 95, 96, 99 or 102 etc. marked on the tyre.
Download the excel spread sheet, save it on your hard drive and put the info in the box's marked red.
MTPLM, Wheels, Max PSI marked on tyre, you say 66psi and the tyre load index, then you get the correct pressure and other bits of info. The info on is for my caravan, just change it.
the tyres will stand whatever the max pressure on them says.. this dosnt mean they should be inflated to that pressure the needed pressure relates to the load..
the max pressure is only needed when the load for the tyre is at its maximum..
all running your tyres too hard will do is help shake you van to pieces every time you hit a pot hole in the road..
having said that blowing tyres up harder than they should be is pretty common.. if the books says 36 psi it wont be far out..
i run my 11 kg single axle van at 40 psi.. the tyres maximum pressure is 65 psi.. for the weight of my van this would be way over the top.. the tyres would stand 65 psi but would have less rubber on the road and the van structure would get far more road shocks than it needs to..
Quote: Originally posted by trog100 on 09/7/2015pressure relates to the load.. the max pressure is only needed when the load for the tyre is at its maximum..
all running your tyres too hard will do is help shake you van to pieces every time you hit a pot hole in the road
van structure would get far more road shocks than it needs to..
trog
Post last edited on 09/07/2015 12:34:40
Can we be a little circumspect about these sweeping statements?
No doubt increasing tyre pressures means there is a change in the transmission of road surface shocks transmitted into the suspension and correspondingly but not unilaterally into the chassis and body but there is no reason to suspect the structure is adversely affected by them.
Might shake the milk up a bit but the structure is well able to withstand them.
Manufacturers use the same suspension, chassis, body and internal structure systems in their various models with tyre pressures of typically 45 to 65 psi so no account is being taken of this effect by them at all.
firstly caravans are not known to have sold structures they are flimsy things built to keep the weight down..
the suspension is very simple and crude.. not very good for absorbing road shocks..
simple common sense says the harder the tyre the harder the suspension and the greater the road shocks..
my van is now twenty years old.. i covered a thousand miles in it last week and on some quite poor roads..
the van is dry with no leaks.. the only thing that will kill it off is road shock vibrations.. blowing my tyres up harder than i have to will speed the process up..
this forum is loaded with complaints about vans not being well enough made and leaking.. running tyres too hard as many people do dosnt help..
the people that think it a good idea to blow their tyres up too hard will continue to do so.. i would guess you are one of them else i see no reason for your comment. :)
Motobiman you were not able to provide any evidence that caravans were not damaged by road vibrations in a recent similar topic, you simply spat your dummy out.
Frankly the fact that you run your caravan on 65psi is completely irrelevant. The recommended tyre pressure for any caravan is based on a simple formula relating the maximum tyre pressure, to the tyre load rating, and the actual load on the tyre.
"Too hard" is very simple it is plus a few percent of the recommended tyre pressure.
Most caravan tyres have a maximum pressure of no more than 65psi, and clearly it is never a good thing to run a tyre at its maximum pressure. It would certainly make it more susceptible to blowouts, it would wear faster in the centre of the tyre, it would reduce the contact area with the road, and hence cornering (and probably stability) adhesion, and as both Trog and I have pointed out, increase vibration in the caravan.
Get new caravan tyres fitted and yes, the pressure may well have to change as the maximum tyre pressure or tyre load ratings may be different.
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Topic: Tyre pressure
